My apologies for not writing in such a long time. November was consumed by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Then came the holidays, hard on its heels. And as if that wasn’t distraction enough, we were hit with Snowpocalypse 2008™, the mother of all snowstorms. It was a mother, too; blanketed Portland in sixteen inches […]

Ever feel like you’re the only one who isn’t in on the cosmic joke? I take a walk every morning in one of the handy patches of urban wilderness nearby. Usually, it’s a peaceful reprieve from the daily insanity; a way to reconnect with my thoughts and watch the squirrels, get my blood coursing, and […]

I was tapping away at my novel with my office windows open when the first explosion rocked the house. After untangling myself from the ceiling fan, I rushed into the street, certain I’d find a smoking crater where a neighbor’s house once stood. The street looked the same as always; no shower of falling wood, […]

Another foot in a shoe has washed up on the Canadian coast. This is all you need to know about today. Instead, let me tell you about what I did on my summer vacation.

Maybe it’s just Monday morning talking, but I feel like delving into dark territory. Did you ever daydream about where you’ll be and what you’ll do when it all falls apart? Call it what you will; global economic collapse, Armageddon, the big one, they’re all faces of the same nameless beast that lives in our […]

Let me preface this by saying that I’m a pragmatist when it comes to the creative process. Often, I hear friends talk about characters who want to do this, or refuse to do that, as if those fictional beings held the reins. I might give a knowing smile or nod, but down deep I’m thinking […]

Where did you come up with that idea? If you write fiction, you’ll hear that question repeatedly over the span of your career. It was even posed to me once by a literary agent, someone you’d think would be too jaded to ask, after I pitched him the concept for The Big Spin. The temptation […]